


Of tea and history and choices

by somnolentblue



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: (Not Unhappy), Ahsoka Tano Gets a Hug, Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Ficbit, Ficlet, Gen, Post-Episode: s05e05 Tipping Points, Steela Lives, are you happy child, post-Onderon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 04:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17501390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somnolentblue/pseuds/somnolentblue
Summary: After Onderon, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shared tea and conversation. (The tea grew cold.)





	Of tea and history and choices

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cantarina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantarina/gifts).



Obi-Wan observed Ahsoka's pensive stare into nothing and sighed. It was unlike their padawan to be so still. She undoubtedly had a headache from her impressive use of the Force earlier — catching an inanimate object in mid-air when you couldn't see it was difficult; being gentle enough to rescue a falling human being was well beyond what he would have expected of a padawan — but even so, this was unusual.

"Ahsoka," he said gently, putting the tea kettle and mugs on the table in front of her. He sat down beside her and poured tea for them both. 

"Oh," she said. "Master Obi-Wan."

"What troubles you, padawan?" he asked. "By all accounts, the mission to Onderon was a resounding success. Rash was ousted, Onderon is once again free of the Separatists, and the rebels are integrating back into their society." 

She shrugged.

"Or is it more personal matters that trouble you?"

"Of course not, master," she replied. "My duty come before my feelings, always."

Obi-Wan gave a gentle huff of laughter. "Is that so? You're a much better Jedi than I, then," he replied, enjoying her shocked, sidelong look before she went back to staring into her tea. He debated with himself for a moment, and then decided that the need to comfort outweighed the need to maintain any semblance of authority, especially with someone who had seen him after 72 hours without sleep and on enough stims to power a ship. He pulled her gently into his side, the hug that he'd wanted and not received when he faced this particular challenge himself. 

She hummed. "But it could have gone so badly," she said. "If Tandin hadn't changed his mind, if Master Skywalker hadn't found enough credits to hire Hondo, if Hondo had decided to take the money but keep the rocket launchers, if—"

"Don't dwell on what might have been, padawan," Obi-Wan counselled. "Focus on the now." 

"And what if," Ahsoka began before cutting herself off. Obi-Wan waited patiently. "What if," she continued, almost in a whisper "you're not sure if you're where you're supposed to be at a particular moment?" 

Obi-Wan dropped his arm from around her shoulders and turned to face her. She looked up and met his eyes. "Bontari, is it?" he asked. 

She shook her head instantly. "No, Lux and I are just friends." He waited, familiar with the tangle of emotions she was radiating into the Force. She dropped her gaze briefly and then looked back up. "It's Steela." 

Ah. Well, Obi-Wan couldn't say that he'd seen that coming, but at least Gerrera had a better head on her shoulders than Bontari. 

"She… I feel like I have things to learn from her, master. She loves her people, her brother, and yet she's balanced and didn't hesitate to put the mission ahead of Saw. Her people genuinely love her, although she might ask them to die tomorrow when they were fighting. I don't… I want to know how she holds the balance."

Obi-Wan would have spared her this if he could. Heartbreaks were inevitable, but he had hoped that she'd have a more even-keeled experience than her master or her master's master. He pulled her into another hug and then drew back just enough to put his hands on her shoulders. "Ahsoka," he said, "duty comes before emotions, that's true. And, as a Force user, you have some duties that can't be set aside." She began to collapse in on herself, and he continued, "However, you are also a sentient citizen of the Republic. You must decide where your duty lies."

"Master?"

"Ahsoka, being a Jedi isn't a decision you make once, a pledge you agree to when you enter the temple and never leave. Your commitment must be renewed constantly, and only you can decide if it's a pact you wish to keep." Seeing her poleaxed expression, he smiled wryly. "I left the Jedi Order once—"

"Master!"

"—and I stayed once. A path chosen means that there are others not walked--" he didn't regret the decisions of his youth, although, sometimes, he did wonder, as futile as it was "--and you will always have to live with that knowledge. But which path you walk, that is a decision that you must make yourself. 

"And Ahsoka," he continued, "I have faith in you."

**Author's Note:**

> Or, what happens when Blue watches the Onderon arc at the same time she's writing sparkle season ficbits. :D 
> 
> Steela lives, because pft to that nonsense.


End file.
